New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) and center Max Unger (60) during the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, November 11, 2018.

To see how much New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees appreciates center Max Unger, go back and watch the play when Brees broke the NFL’s career passing yardage record in Week 5.

After the play, a 62-yard touchdown, the first person to congratulate Brees was left tackle Terron Armstead, who wrapped Brees in a hug. Then, tight ends Benjamin Watson and Josh Hill as well as right guard Larry Warford joined in on a group hug. From there, about 20 Saints players surrounded Brees and jumped for joy.

Unger wasn’t in that group. Instead, Unger was down the field, trying to separate wide receiver Michael Thomas from Washington cornerback Josh Norman as the two were jawing after the play.

“I turn around and everybody is celebrating, and I was like, ‘Oh crap, I forgot,’” Unger said.

Before Brees returned to the sideline to hand the record-setting ball to Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker, the quarterback ran downfield to embrace his center, and Unger said he was glad Brees made a point to celebrate with him.

“He’s as important a part of it as anybody,” Brees said of Unger. “He’s the glue that holds a lot of what we do together.”

Unger will soon become the longest-standing center of Brees’ 18-year career. Since arriving in New Orleans from Seattle in the Jimmy Graham trade in 2015, Unger has started 59 regular-season games for the Saints, 58 of which have been with Brees under center.

For now, Jonathan Goodwin holds the title of the center who has played the most with Brees. Their 60 regular-season games together were spread across two stints, the first from 2008-10 followed by Goodwin’s return in 2014.

“I keep forgetting that I’ve been here for four years,” Unger said. “It’s gone by so quickly, but all of us have been a part of what he’s done. It’s obviously been a team effort, going back to 2001 (for Brees). He’s played with a lot of O-lines, and just to kind of be a part of that, it’s cool. I’d like to think that we’ve done our part, but he’s been hit a little bit more than we’d like.”

The Saints’ 13 sacks allowed this year are the fewest in the NFL, but any hit on Brees upsets Unger and the rest of the team.

“When that guy steps into the huddle, we’re playing for him,” Unger said.

Unger has only had one noticeably bad game this season when he struggled blocking Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Still, Saints offensive line coach Dan Roushar said Unger has been “very, very good” the past two seasons and said Unger deserved more praise than he received last year when the offense became more balanced.

Thinking back to the 2015 trade, Brees said he loved Graham, but he was excited to see the Saints acquire Unger, as well as a first-round pick. Brees and Unger played together in the Pro Bowl after the 2012 season, and Brees said he knew Unger was a “great player” and heard “so many great things about him,” all of which have proven true the past four seasons.

“He’s such a great teammate,” Brees said. “He’s such a hard worker. He’s the epitome of everything you would want in an offensive lineman — gritty, tough, wants zero attention.

“The center position really sets the tone. They set the tone for the whole O-line. … If you’re a young center, and you want to know how to command a huddle, how to hustle up to the line of scrimmage, how to be vocal, how to just (do) every aspect of being a center in this league, you should watch Max Unger.”

The Saints have two young centers, Cameron Tom and Will Clapp, and they intently watch how Unger operates with Brees. Clapp, a rookie, said it can be challenging sometimes to determine what Brees and Unger are doing because they effectively speak their own language and use non-verbal cues, but Clapp said the two are always willing to explain.

“They’re really like hand in hand,” said Tom, now in his second year. “They both communicate the same thing, and they’re both all about tempo.”

Tempo is a word that comes up a lot when discussing Unger, and it’s something Brees, Roushar and coach Sean Payton all mentioned when asked about the center. Roushar called Unger’s attention to tempo and communication with Brees “invaluable” to the Saints offense.

As Brees explains it, Unger after every play immediately finds the new spot and sets the huddle exactly six yards behind the ball, so when Brees turns out of the huddle, he knows he’s going to walk directly toward the ball.

“If guys start lagging, dragging, he’s like, ‘Come on, tighten the huddle up,’” Brees said. “He’s the first one to say that, and it’s great because there’s times where, in the past, I’ve said something, but I don’t need to because man I know Max has got it under control.

“And then you break the huddle, and it’s almost like Max is forcing everybody to race up to the ball, but then that creates tempo and urgency and that stresses a defense.”

Saints linebacker Demario Davis knows how much Brees and Unger stress a defense. Davis faced the Saints while playing with the New York Jets last season, and while he said it can be easy to diagnose a play based on the center and quarterback communication before the snap, that’s not the case with Brees and Unger.

“There were a couple times I thought I had them pegged just from film watching, but they were doing something totally different,” Davis said.

For some quarterbacks and centers, communication is like basic math, which makes it easy for defenses to make a read, but Davis said Brees and Unger have graduated to “calculus or trigonometry” because of their longstanding relationship.

Meanwhile, Brees said Unger “absolutely” has helped extend his career, something for which the Saints and their fans should be grateful.

“There’s a sense of security, and there’s a comfort level, knowing that I got a guy like that in that room and a guy like that who’s running the huddle before I step into it,” Brees said. “And a guy that, if there’s things that are going on up front, he’s going to get it straight. Just like I hope he knows if there’s things going on in the backfield, I’m going to get that straight.”